Fortune Pai Gow Poker

Overview

Fortune Pai Gow Poker is a poker game that uses a standard deck of 52 cards, with the addition of a single joker. The player is dealt a hand of seven cards and must make two hands (one of five cards and one of two). The players hands must beat the dealers hands to win.
Players start out by placing a bet in the main bet area on the table. They receive a total of Seven cards. The player must then select two cards to make up the LOW hand, the unselected five cards will make up the HIGH hand. The Player's HIGH hand must outrank the LOW hand. To assist with this decision, two of the cards will be highlighted, suggesting that these cards be used as the LOW hand
Once the selection has been made, the cards will be sorted in to two hands, the dealer will also reveal its cards and sort them in to two hands. The player wins if both hands beat both the dealer's hands, pushes if only one hand beats the dealer's hands, and loses if both hands do not beat the dealer's hands.
There is also an optional Fortune Bonus side bet which is based on all of the player's seven cards and pays on a straight or better.
Winnings from side bets are added to the total win when the pays are evaluated.

How to Play

The game uses one 52-card deck plus a single joker (53 cards in total), which is shuffled at the conclusion of each hand.

To begin the game, the player must place a bet in the ante bet area (white circle). The Fortune Bonus side bet (yellow circle) is optional.

The Player and Dealer are each dealt seven cards face down. The Player's cards are then revealed.

The Player must then select two cards to be used as their LOW hand. Two of the Player's cards will be highlighted, suggesting that these cards be used.

The Player's cards will then be sorted in to LOW and HIGH hands (denoted by 'Low' and 'High' on the game table). The HIGH hand will consist of the five remaining cards that were not chosen.

The Player's HIGH hand must outrank the LOW hand.

The Dealer's cards are then revealed and also sorted into LOW and HIGH hands. These areas are also denoted by 'Low' and 'High' on the game table.

If the Player's LOW hand outranks the Dealer's LOW hand and the Player's HIGH hand outranks the Dealer's HIGH hand, the Player wins.

If only one of the Player's hands outranks the corresponding Dealer's hand, the Player draws with the Dealer.

If neither of the Player's hands outranks the Dealer's hands, the Ante bet is lost

The optional Fortune Bonus side bet is based on all of the Player's seven cards, regardless of how the Player chooses to split their cards, or the Dealer's cards. Players are paid according to the Fortune Bonus paytable.

In Fortune Pai Gow Poker, the Joker is WILD and substitutes for any other card when used to complete a Straight, Flush, Straight Flush or Royal Flush. Otherwise, the Joker substitutes as an Ace.

Hand Rankings

In Fortune Pai Gow Poker's base bet, hands are ranked from highest to lowest as follows:Five Aces
(contains the following cards: A, A, A, A with Joker)Royal Flush
(contains the following cards of the same suit: A, K, Q, J, 10)Straight Flush
(contains five cards in sequential value and of the same suit)Four of a Kind
(contains four cards of the same value)Full House
(contains three matching cards of one value and two matching cards of another value)Flush
(contains five cards of the same suit)Straight
(contains five cards of sequential value in at least two different suits)Three of a Kind
(contains three cards of the same value)Two Pair
(contains two cards of the same value, plus two more of another matching value)Pair
(contains two cards of the same value)High Card
(single highest card in hand)
In Fortune Pai Gow Poker's optional sidebet, hands ranks differ slightly from the base bet. They are listed from highest to lowest as follows:Seven Card Straight Flush
(all cards are in sequential value and of the same suit - without joker)Royal Flush with Suited Royals
(contains A-K-Q-J-10 of the same suit in addition to a K-Q of the same suit, with or without joker)Seven Card Straight Flush with Joker
(all cards are in sequential value and of the same suit)
Note that the value of a card ascends sequentially from 2-10, and then according to the following:Jack
(denoted by a J)Queen
(denoted by a Q)King
(denoted by a K)Ace
(denoted by an A)
When evaluating a hand, only the highest possible rank within the Player's cards is considered (while a Straight Flush contains both a Straight and a Flush, it is calculated solely as a Straight Flush). Ace is high except in 5-4-3-2-Ace sequence.
The highest Straight is A-K-Q-J-10. The second highest straight is A-2-3-4-5 (the wheel).
Afterwards, the highest card of a Straight determines its value e.g. a Q-J-10-9-8 outranks a 8-7-6-5-4.

Payouts

The payouts for the Pai Gow Bet are as follows:WIN: 1 : 1 If both Player's hands outrank both of the Dealer's hands, the Player wins.
A payout of 1x Ante bet is awarded in addition to the original Ante bet.DRAW: The Ante bet is returned to the Player
If only one of the Player's hands outranks the Dealer's hands, the Player draws with the Dealer.LOSE: The Ante bet is lost
If neither of the Player's hands outrank the Dealer's hands, the Player loses.DEALER DOES NOT QUALIFY: The Ante bet is returned to the Player
If the Dealer's low hand contains a 9 and another card of lower value, the Dealer's hand will not qualify and will result in a PUSH of the Player's Ante bet.
The payouts for the Fortune Bonus (7-card hand) are as follows:Seven Card Straight Flush
8000 : 1Royal Flush with Suited Royals
2000 : 1Seven Card Straight Flush with Joker
1000 : 1Five Aces
400 : 1Royal Flush
150 : 1Straight Flush
50 : 1Four of a Kind
25 : 1Full House
5 : 1Flush
4 : 1Three of a Kind
3 : 1Straight
2 : 1

Theoretical Return To Player

The Pai Gow Poker RTP assumes the Player follows the house way.
Pai Gow Poker: 97.47%
Fortune Bonus: 92.23%
The Auto Split feature does not use the optimal strategy for all hands.